Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On November 3, 2015, the Minister of Health tabled "Mind and Spirit: Promoting Mental Health and Addictions Recovery in the Northwest Territories." This is the mental health strategic framework for 2016 to 2021.
Mr. Speaker, mental health is a critical issue that this government must address, not just for our citizens today but also for future generations of Northerners. I'm glad to see this government recognize this with its new strategy, and I'm equally pleased that the federal government has allocated to the Northwest Territories $6.1 million over a 10-year period to fund new mental health initiatives, along with robust tracking standards to adequately access the state of mental health for our people. Of course, there's never enough money for this critical need, but this is a start of a conversation and a new funding agreement that I hope we can take further.
Despite the seriousness of mental health and addictions, these issues and those who struggle with them are still subject to social stigma and embarrassment. In fact, according to a recent study, only 49 per cent of Canadians said they would socialize with a friend who had a serious mental illness.
Mr. Speaker, although mental illness and addictions cut across society, I want to speak about how it affects the most vulnerable members of our society, the youth and those dealing with addictions.
Mr. Speaker, 70 per cent of mental health problems have their onset during childhood or adolescence. Young people aged 15 to 24 are more likely to experience mental illness and/or substance use disorders than any other age group. Similarly, people with substance use problems are three times more likely to have a mental illness. More than 15 per cent of people with a substance use problem have a co-occurring mental illness.
To put that into our Northern perspective, Mr. Speaker, in the Northwest Territories between 2008 and 2010, alcohol and drug issues were involved in the majority of mental health hospitalizations. They made up 68 per cent of the patients and 49 per cent of the costs to the system. Hospitalization rates included drugs, alcohol, mood disorders, schizophrenia and psychotic disorders, and anxiety disorders. Mr. Speaker, at this time I'd like to ask for unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted